Japan Airlines Flight Falls 26,000 Feet, Passengers Recall Terrifying Moment
A Japan Airlines flight from Shanghai to Tokyo was forced to deploy oxygen masks to passengers after their Boeing 737 plane dropped nearly 26,000 feet. According to the South China Morning Post, the plane operating under a code-share agreement between Japan Airlines and its low-cost subsidiary, Spring Japan, made an emergency landing at Kansai Airport on Monday after it experienced a mid-air mechanical issue. There were 191 passengers and crew onboard the plane when it rapidly descended from approximately 36,000 feet to just under 10,500 feet within 10 minutes.
Passengers feared the plane would crash as oxygen masks were released amid fears the change in pressure levels could cause some people to lose consciousness. They took to social media soon after landing and described the incident as "life-threatening". "My body is still here, but my soul hasn't caught up. My legs are still shaking. When you face life or death, everything else feels trivial," one passenger wrote, as per SCMP.
Another described the descent as abrupt and extreme. "The plane started plummeting violently at around 7 pm and dropped to 3,000 metres in just 20 minutes," they wrote.
According to People, one passenger even recalled being on "the verge of tears" as they wrote their will and penned details of their insurance and bank card pins.
No injuries were reported when the aircraft landed in Osaka. Those on board were offered 15,000 yen ($104) in transportation compensation and provided one night of accommodation. An investigation has been launched to determine what caused the incident.
The Boeing 737 series involved in Monday's emergency landing has faced numerous global safety incidents. Last year, a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crashed while landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea. A total of 179 people died, while only two crew members survived. The same Boeing model was also involved in the China Eastern Airlines flight MY4735 disaster in March 2022, which killed all 132 people on board.
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Meanwhile, in another similar incident, an Air India flight from Delhi to Vienna dropped 900 feet mid-air on June 14, just two days after an Air India flight crashed in Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff, killing all but one person on board. The Boeing 777 landed safely in Vienna after a flight of 9 hours and 8 minutes. Both pilots have now been off-rostered pending the outcome of the investigation, the airline said.
The action was taken after the matter was disclosed to the aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in "accordance with regulations", Air India said in a statement.
"Upon receipt of the pilot's report, the matter was disclosed to DGCA in accordance with regulations. Subsequently, upon receipt of data from the aircraft's recorders, further investigation was initiated. The pilots have been off-rostered pending the outcome of the investigation," it added.
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